Some roads were flooded and thousands were without power Sunday morning after overnight storms across the Chicago area.
A system bringing torrential rainfall and damaging winds moved through the area Saturday night into early Sunday morning, the National Weather Service said.
A flood advisory was issued until noon Sunday for areas with the heaviest downpours. Those included Joliet, Elgin, Bolingbrook, Oak Forest, West Chicago, Chicago Heights and Orland Park, meteorologists said. Some of those areas saw between 3 and 4 inches of rain overnight.
There were also reports of flooding in Chicago, including a viaduct near 47th Street and Archer Avenue in Archer Heights and another at 95th and South Cottage Grove in Roseland.
In Gage Park, the rain left large puddles in neighborhood streets early Sunday morning.
Laureano Roman, who owns a building in the 5600 block of South Maplewood, said the water was so deep in some places that cars were having trouble driving through.
He drove to the block about 3 a.m. after getting calls from tenants and neighbors about water in their basements. That’s when he saw the flooded streets in the neighborhood. Video he took shows cars slowly making their way through the water.
He said residents were out at that time trying to remove water from their homes. “They have sump pumps, and they were just trying to get the water out.
“It gets flooded super fast,” Roman added, noting the same thing happened after a round of storms last month, forcing him to repair boilers, drywall and a heating/air conditioning system.
He planned to return to the block later Sunday morning to assess any damage. Roman’s not sure why that area is prone to flooding, but he wants something done to prevent further damage to his tenants and neighbors.
“This can’t happen every time it rains,” he said.
In a message to residents, local Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th) urged residents affected by flooding to contact his office for assistance.
“I share your frustration with these recent weather events and want to assure all residents we will work towards real solutions with our city departments,” Lopez said.
As of 8 a.m. Sunday nearly 65,000 were without power, with 29,000 of those in Cook County, according to ComEd.
Saturday night’s storm prompted severe thunderstorm warnings and delayed the Savannah Bananas exhibition game at Rate Field by an hour and 45 minutes past the 7 p.m. start time.
Monday will be warmer with temps near 90 degrees and the heat index peaking at 100 degrees. The chance of rain is 50-70%, but more showers are expected. Rain may linger overnight into Tuesday morning.
The rest of the week should be clear of rainfall. Highs are expected to hover in the low 80s Wednesday and Thursday. Friday should be sunny with a high of 83.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
